DP World posted strong results for the first six months of 2011 of $741mn, up from US$219mn in the same period last year, which was boosted by the one-time gain for the Australia business.

Stage 1 construction of the Mecca Mass Rail Transit project (MMRT) is set to begin in 2013 with services due to begin in 2017.

UAE-based Advance Rail Group (ARG) has joined up with a major Saudi Arabia contractor to bid on more than US$800 million worth of future rail opportunities in the Kingdom.

Emirates Steel, the largest integrated steel manufacturer in the UAE, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Etihad Rail to use rail as the primary method for steel transportation across the UAE.